Top 5 Friendship is Magic Background Ponies

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It's no secret that we love My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. With eye-popping animation, colorful characters and a great sense of humor, the show continues to be popular in and out of its huge and unexpected fandom. Most fans of the show tend to gravitate toward a specific character of the “Mane” Six, such as Twilight Sparkle or Rainbow Dash. Today, however, we are here to honor those ponies who may not have a starring role in the show, but are adored by fans nonetheless. These particular background ponies, as they are called, have struck a chord with Bronies, featuring in countless fan works such as fiction and art. Even though they are not the focus of the show, the extent to which Bronies have developed background characters is to be commended. So, without further ado, these are the Top 5 Background Ponies of Friendship Is Magic.

5. Octavia
This gray-set pony first appeared in The Best Night Ever, the final episode of Season 1. Octavia was part of the group of musicians playing at the Grand Galloping Gala, with her instrument of choice being the violin. After the episode aired, fans became interested in the musical equine and started incorporating her into drawings, music and art. Some even went as far to suggest that she may have been Pinkie Pie's sister, glimpsed only briefly in The Cutie Mark Chronicles. If one is to examine the two, many similarities do pop up, such as the eye and coat color. Because of her musical abilities, Octavia has often been paired up with Vinyl Scratch, a similarly talented DJ pony. We'll get to her soon.

4. Lyra and Bon-Bon
Is it cheating to put two ponies in one spot? Perhaps. However, this duo is so tightly knit together that keeping them apart may be an affront to their kinship. Lyra and Bon-Bon are two veteran background ponies of MLP: FIM, appearing in the very first episode, Friendship Is Magic. Ever since then, fans have noticed the two become near inseparable, almost always appearing together. Some have even posited the two are in a relationship (and not just as friends, mind you). On their own, however, they both have their own distinct qualities. A few watchful Bronies noticed in Episode 7, Dragonshy, that Lyra appeared to be sitting on a bench – in a human-like position. From this, the “Sitting Lyra” meme was born. Bon-Bon, on the other hand, goes through a multitude of voice changes. Possibly the most famous of these voices are in the episodes Call of the Cutie (“I didn't put those in my bag!”) and Lesson Zero (“That incredible, amazing doll!”).

3. Doctor Whooves
Allons-y! This light brown stallion first appeared in the episode Call of the Cutie, when he was pressured by Apple Bloom into buying an apple from her, as part of a scheme to get her cutie mark. Fans noticed that the pony bore quite a resemblance to David Tennant, well known for playing the Tenth Doctor on the renowned British television program, Doctor Who. To capitalize on this, Bronies began calling the pony “Doctor Whooves” and the character swelled in popularity, featuring in literally hundreds of fan works. Hasbro, in a moment of acknowledging the fandom, even named the pony figurine released of him “Doctor Hooves” (The “W” was taken out because of potential copyright issues). To this day, Doctor Hooves remains one of the more popular background ponies simply due to the sheer number of Doctor Who fans within the Brony community. When fandoms collide, eh?

2. Vinyl Scratch
Vinyl Scratch, also known as DJ PON-3, first appeared in the episode Suited for Success. She was a DJ providing music for Rarity's fashion show, utilizing two records. Although she was only on screen for a few seconds, Bronies went wild with the character, gravitating towards her sleek design and cool persona. Since that fateful moment, Vinyl Scratch has gone on to be a signature pony in the fandom, featuring in a couple of episodes and even having main roles in fanfiction and several animated projects. Her eye color has changed over the course of the fandom, first being red and then going to a dark shade of magenta. She is often paired alongside Octavia, as the two have distinct yet very different musical sensibilities.

1. Derpy Hooves
Ah, the first true background pony to become famous. Derpy Hooves, like Lyra and Bon-Bon, appeared in the first episode of the series. While watching the scene of Pinkie Pie surprising Twilight Sparkle with a party, fans began to notice a pony in the background with her eyes crossed. Stirred on by the amusing nature of what was possibly an animation error, fans dubbed the pony “Derpy Hooves,” and the name and character quickly spread throughout the nascent Brony fandom. Derpy eventually became known as, through the power of fanfiction and fan art, a “mail-mare” with a knack for being clumsy and silly yet kind and lovable. The popularity of Derpy grew so much that the show's writers began to incorporate her into the show, crossed eyes and all. An episode called The Last Roundup even featured her being called by name and speaking for the first time in the series. Though there was an unfortunate controversy born out of the use of Derpy in the episode, she still remains popular today, standing tall as a symbol for the fandom.